We Have You Back, Mummy
by Scotch-Irish Rose
Summary: Queen Elinor shares a loving moment with her children.


We Have You Back, Mummy

_The queen shares a quiet, loving moment with her children._

* * *

Queen Elinor found it quite refreshing to be sleeping in her own bed again rather than on the forest floor, and being in her king's arms simply made it all the more lovely.

Her beloved rarely left her side nowadays, even when she happened to be performing rather dull activities. He hardly even dared to venture outdoors, an activity in which he reveled. She suspected he was afraid she would somehow wind up in danger once more, and that he feared he would lose her if he took another chance with her precious life. The fact that he nearly cried a river over her the night they were reunited touched her heart; it was quite nice to be loved. And that she was.

Her darling husband shifted in bed with a sleepy groan, grunting as the bed rocked with his weight. Though she was currently facing away from him, resting her head contentedly upon her pillow, she sensed him toss over in the bed, and Elinor felt the mattress shift as he did so. Fergus sighed audibly as he inched closer to his wife, slowly draping an arm over her waist in the midst of his slumber.

Elinor echoed his dreamily contented sigh as his strong, powerful hand was placed upon her stomach, causing it to flutter in response to his surprisingly tender caress. She instantly rolled over to face him, snuggling impossibly closer as his ineffable warmth and quiet snores instilled her with a sense of comfort and security. He raised his heavy lids, revealing to his wife a glimpse of what she adored; clear, azure eyes twinkling in the moonlight peeking through the curtains. As the king laid his eyes upon his queen, his mouth curved upward in an ecstatic yet tired smile.

"Oh, lass, ye're a grand sight to wake up to." he said, kissing her forehead as she smiled modestly. He rolled over upon his back. "What're ye doin' awake at this hour, Eli?" he yawned. His beloved shrugged, and he suddenly donned a guilty expression. _"I _didn't disturb ye, did I, love?"

"No, no, sweetheart." she assured him as she sat up in bed, tenderly caressing his face with a gentle, loving touch. He grasped her wrist and brought her hand up to his mouth, planting a long kiss upon her palm. She admitted with a sigh, "I just haven't been able to get much sleep the past few nights..."

"Somethin' on yer mind, dear?" inquired Fergus sympathetically, pulling his wife into his arms. She reclined back against his form as he draped an arm around her, and he kissed her cheek lightly, patiently awaiting her response.

"Oh, well... I've just been thinking quite a lot about what... _happened." _confessed Elinor with yet another sigh, gazing up at the top of their canopy bed with a pair of solemn and somber amber eyes. She hugged her husband's muscular arm tightly to her chest, as if she sought even more security.

"O-oh..." he mumbled gruffly, swallowing a growing lump in his throat. He still had qualms about speaking of the matter, considering the pain both he and especially his lovely queen had endured during that incredibly short yet agonizing period of time.

"I still can't _bear_ it..." she whispered, surprising herself at her choice of words.

"Wh-what? What can't ye... _handle, _dear?" Fergus pressed gently, touching her chin with his opposite hand.

"Everything," she whispered.

"Th-the fact that ye..."

"Oh, no, I've accepted _that," _she said hastily. "J-just... _why?_ Merida, she... she _loathed_m-me." Fergus placed his hands on both sides of her face and guided her lips to his, providing her with several light, brief kisses. The corner of her eye sported a glimmering tear, which rolled down her visage in a thin rivulet and landed upon the quilt draped over them. At last, the king spoke.

"Elinor, m'love, listen to me-"

"What kind of _despicable_ woman causes her own flesh and blood to hate her so?" the queen interjected, tears steadily flowing now.

"She _didn't_ hate you, darlin'." Fergus said in a soft, gentle tone, attempting to assuage his wife's concerns. "Here, dear." He pulled open his bedside drawer to retrieve something, and gently unlocked his wife's fingers, pressing a handkerchief into her palm. "I don't like to hear you speakin' this way..."

"Oh, but it's true, Fergus!" Elinor insisted, breaking out of his embrace and dabbing at her tearful orbs. "_Loathing. _That's what my child felt... about... _her mum_." She turned away from him, finally succumbing to the fierce, inevitable tears burning at her eyes and the painful sorrow that emanated from her soul.

Fergus released a soft whisper of her name, placing a hand upon her shoulder. The queen abruptly rose from her place on the bed, setting the now dampened cloth upon the mahogany bedside table.

"Elinor, love... please..." her husband whimpered, lifting back the covers and making a motion to pursue her.

"I-I'll be back, d-dear," she said tearfully, poking her bare feet into her slippers and padding towards the door.

* * *

She meandered along the corridor as she wallowed in the disgust she harbored for herself, carelessly allowing cascading tears to plummet to the stone floor.

In the pitch blackness of the castle, she had no earthly idea of where she was going, even though she was normally familiar with the layout like the back of her hand.

Elinor let out a persistent sob that had been threatening to escape for some time and covered her face with her hands, her body hiccuping and heaving with her crying. Despite making amends with her daughter, she was still disgusted with herself. All those years, forcing her beloved Merida, her only daughter, to be something she was not, and never wished to be... she would never be able to live it down.

Over her mournful sobbing, a peculiar sound suddenly hit the queen's ears - a sorrowful, pleading whimper. Elinor sniffed daintily and halted with a pause. Driven with curiosity, she approached a nearby door, gingerly placing her hand upon the doorknob. No, she couldn't. What if she were to disturb whoever slept soundly within the room?

Elinor's heart instantly wrenched as she recognized the sound - that utterly distressing and _disturbing_ sound. The frantic mother twisted the doorknob violently, swinging the door open and inviting herself in.

"_Merida!" _she cried frantically, nearly tripping over her feet as she hurriedly scampered to her child's bed. Elinor sat down upon the mattress and clutched her daughter's shoulder with a gentle squeeze. In the darkness of the night, she could still distinctly make out the fiery, tangled tufts of the princess' wild tresses poking out from beneath the assortment of blankets, underneath which she had burrowed.

At the feeling of the maternal touch and the sound of her mother's voice, Merida released a gasp, peeking timidly from under the covers.

"M-Mum..." she squeaked in a quavering whisper, as if she were in awe at the sight of the queen.

"Aye, darling, it's me-" Elinor was cut off in mid-sentence as her daughter captured her in a tight hug, and she instinctively brought her child closer.

"Oh, Mum..." whimpered the princess with a snivel, unable to catch her breath.

"Oh, Merida, it's alright, my dear," crooned the mother to her inconsolable daughter, who cried into the queen's silk nightgown with surprising vigor. Elinor felt her tears become more empowered, and she too broke down once more, joining her beloved Merida in sobs.

"Mum, I love you..." the princess professed in a muffled, tearful murmur, embracing her mother even more unconditionally. "...s-s-so... m-much. I'm _sorry _for... _e-everything. I love you, Mummy." _

Elinor showered her beloved child's face with tender kisses, tucking a curl behind her ear.

"Oh, my darling Merida..." whimpered Elinor, hugging her daughter and bringing her deeper into her motherly, comforting embrace. "Why all these tears, sweetheart? Hm?" inquired the queen gently with a sniff, resting her chin upon her daughter's head.

The monarch and princess turned their heads toward the sound of a door creaking open, and in scurried the triplet princes, who all crawled into their mother's lap and raised their arms, begging to be held.

"W-we're so glad to have ye back, Mum." giggled Merida, using the back of her hand to wipe away her tears.

"Oh, my darling wee lads," Elinor chuckled, regarding her sons with adoration. She brought them close, kissing each of her sons affectionately and nuzzling their faces. After providing the triplet boys with the attention they desired, she raised her head and gazed at her offspring. "All four of you should be _asleep." _said the queen, managing to use a slightly stern voice despite how fragile her emotional state was at the moment. She _was_ their mother, after all, and she knew her children needed their precious hours of restful sleep.

The princess hugged her mother a final time before she reclined upon her pillow. Her brothers, after each planting a quick kiss upon their mother's cheek, followed Merida's example, crawling beneath the covers and snuggling close to their sister.

Before she took note of her actions, the queen's voice was filling the room with the comforting, soothing lullaby her children adored; the serenade they all associated with the feeling of pure love.

As the smooth Gaelic rolled off the queen's tongue, she gently caressed the faces of each of her children, tucking them snugly beneath the cozy quilts and wool blankets. Continuing with her serene melody, she turned her attention to all four of her offspring.

As she tenderly touched Harris' unkempt, curly locks of hair, the little boy brought up a tiny, pudgy hand to grasp his mother's wrist, and the queen stroked her son's face with a smooth motion, calming him as he drifted off.

Hubert donned a cheeky grin as Elinor pulled the blanket farther up over the boy's body and tucked it beneath his chin, assuring he was warm enough. She placed a gentle kiss upon his forehead as an endearing yet feigned snore escaped him. Elinor couldn't help but giggle.

She then focused her attention upon Hamish, leaning in and touching her nose to his. The young prince chortled and placed his hands upon his mother's face, greedily requesting more affection. Elinor briefly tickled her little boy, causing him to squeak with laughter. She pecked his cheek, offering him a loving smile before she finally focused her attention solely upon her oldest child.

Her admirable, beloved daughter gazed up at her with a pair of gorgeous, azure eyes, which reflected her father's spirit and her mother's wisdom. After a loving 'good night', Merida once more murmured the three words that the queen, just days before, had thought may never grace her ears again.


End file.
